“There is a saying in Tibetan, 'Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.'No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster.” -The Dalai Lama

Mission Statement

Ask Me About My Endo is spreading awareness and advocacy for Endometriosis by getting people talking! Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women, or 176 million women worldwide, with an average delay in diagnosis ranging from 6-10 years. Years of misdiagnosis and ineffective treatment negatively impacts the patient's quality of life. The physical, emotional, and social effects of endometriosis can be lessened with early diagnosis and complete surgical excision in many cases, particularly in coordination with a multidisciplinary approach to treating pain holistically. AMAME strives to get patients talking about their endometriosis instead of hiding it. Let's clarify the misunderstandings, dispel the myths, share effective treatment options, and refer to the best specialists possible!

Who We Are

Ask Me About My Endo was founded by Kelsey Chin in February 2014. Kelsey is joined by her husband, James Chin, who donates his skills in photography and IT infrastructure to the organization. What began as an idea for a t-shirt to wear to the Emergency Room has now blossomed into a growing online community, resource website, and incorporation of Kelsey's Etsy shop as a means to support our efforts and give back to the community. Our mascot, Ruby the Endo Roo, was designed and handmade by Kelsey as a conversation starter during our trip to Washington D.C for the first Worldwide Endo March. Ruby has become a popular representation of the estimated 176 million women who suffer from Endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain around the world. Ruby is the focal point of our online awareness campaign, and a source of comfort to many women who follow our organization.

Kelsey has been living with Stage IV Endometriosis and Adenomyosis for 17 years. After 14 years of misdiagnosis and ineffective hormonal suppression, Kelsey was surgically diagnosed with Endometriosis during a laparoscopic surgery to remove a possible cancerous ovarian cyst. The cyst turned out to be an endometrioma, and Kelsey's surgeon ablated (burned the surface of the disease) the visible spots of Endometriosis. Just a few short months later, Kelsey's symptoms recurred and increased tenfold. She began having daily debilitating pain that forced her to drop out of graduate school. She spent days in bed, unable to even roll over, sometimes unable to breathe through the pain. Kelsey began researching online and found Dr. Patrick Yeung, Jr., an excision specialist and head of the Center for Endometriosis in St. Louis, Missouri. Unlike ablation, which burns the surface, leaving behind damaged tissue and remaining disease, excision surgery cuts all forms of endometriosis with wide margins to send to pathology and obtain a definitive diagnosis. Two surgeries later, Kelsey's life changed dramatically, and she fights to share her story and help women like her access life changing surgery that only a handful of doctors perform effectively.

In summer 2014, we began hosting links to excision surgery fundraisers for women who need help financing quality care and surgery. We quickly realized that hosting and sharing the links just wasn't enough. This led Kelsey to re-brand her Etsy shop to reflect a mission to give back to the community. Ask Me About My Endo on Etsy offers unique handmade heating/ice packs and custom Ruby the Endo Roo plushes. $10 of every Ruby purchase, and $1 for every item sold in the shop is donated to help women access quality excision. In this way, we hope that we can help support effective treatment and advocate for quality care.

In 2017, Kelsey suffered from a life threatening neck injury, and underwent upper cervical neck and brain surgery. She is currently recovering and hopes to become more actively engaged with AMAME as things improve. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

www.askmeaboutmyendo.org 2014-2016All content, including photo, video, and written work is the sole property of the creator, and shall not be duplicated, reproduced, or redistributed without express permission. Any copyright infringement will be pursued. Ask Me About My Endo does not provide medical advice, but can direct you to someone who can help. To find support, ask questions, and get help, please check out our Resources page.